Faith

Why Is God So Silent?
(Jesus People, 1973)

Frederic W. Farrar (1831 – 1903), Dean of Canterbury Cathedral during the last eight years of the Victorian era saw fit to examine God’s silence and seeming indifference while humanity struggles:

God makes no ado. He does not defend Himself. He suffers men to blaspheme. His enemies make a murmuring but he refrains. And much of what is said is awfully true – for those who utter it. To men, to nations, God is silent; there is no God. Their ears are closed so that they cannot hear. They who love the darkness have it. To those who will not listen, God does not speak.

A World War II Prayer Story
(Reader’s Digest, 1944)

A psychologist, in discussing some of the widely publicized ‘miracles’ of the war, puts it this way: ‘God may be likened to an electric dynamo. We can receive the power of this dynamo by attaching ourselves to it by prayer; or we can prove it has no influence in our lives by refusing to attach ourselves to it by prayer. The choice is ours…’ Today indisputable proof of the power of prayer are pouring in from every quarter of the globe. The only surprising thing is that we think it surprising. These praying soldiers, sailors and aviators of ours are merely following the example of Washington who knelt to ask for aid in the snows of Valley Forge and of Lincoln who, in the darkest days of the Civil War, declared: ‘Without the assistance of That Divine Being Who attends me I cannot succeed; with that assistance I cannot fail.’


Click here to read about one of the most famous prayers of the Second World War…

Protestants in America
(Pageant Magazine, 1952)

This is a report from 1952 on the largest group of Christians in the United States during that period in time:

The United States is sometimes called a ‘Protestant nation.’ It isn’t, of course. It is a nation of 150,697,361 free people, free to choose whatever path to God they please. But it was settles largely by Protestant denominations; it has, in fact, the largest Protestant population of any nation on earth. By latest tally, 81,862,328 Americans belong to religious bodies. Of these 59 percent are Protestant. Roman Catholics account for 33 percent, Jews for six percent and other faiths for two percent.

Jesus In The Old Testament
(Book of Psalms)

For believers in Christ, Psalm 22 is the most curious of all of the 150 Psalms. It catches our imaginations not simply because our Savior quoted from it during His final hours, but because it makes a reference to the practice of crucifixion centuries before the torture was ever conceived. It also anticipates His thirst, the coming of the church and the distributing of His garments among His tormentors. We have highlighted these verses and illustrated the prophetic aspects of the psalm with quotes from a recent book on the topic.

The Faith of Mahalia Jackson
(Pageant Magazine, 1964)

In this 1964 article, the cherished Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson (1911 – 1972) explained for the reader the relationship she had with the Almighty and further remarked that this relationship was the exact one God required from Christians:

– you have to have a made-up mind. You don’t straddle the fence serving God; we must put our all on the alter and let God abide.

Christianity in the Confederate States
(Confederate Veteran, 1922)

In the war society of the South, religion played a leading roll… The Methodist and Presbyterian churches cut themselves away from their Northern brethren and cast their fortunes with the Southern cause… The churches of the South entered so whole heatedly into the cause of the war that they were invariably closed by the Union commanders. Throughout the war many revivals, special prayer meetings, and fasts were held for the success of Southern arms… The army was swept by religious fervor. All regiments departing for the front were consecrated. Many clergymen joined the army as chaplains… .


Click here to read about the chaplains in the Confederate Army.

A Christian Defends Atheists
(Coronet Magazine, 1961)

Following the close of the Second World War America took a good look at herself and slowly began to clean house. Assorted magazines and newspapers began to publish articles about various injustices that seemed to be overlooked during the previous centuries in order that remedies could be found and national integrity restored. When this column was sent to the printer it was a time when numerous states barred atheists from holding elective office, serving as a court witness or work as a school teacher. All of this was taking place in spite of the fact that the census bureau records indicated that as many as 36.6% of the U.S. citizenry had no affiliation with any religious institution.


Another article about an outstanding Episcopal bishop can be read here…

Statistics on American Religions
(America Weekly, 1945)

In this study concerning the religions of the United States during the mid-to-late period of the Second World War, it was revealed that there were a total of 256 religious bodies in the country; of this 13 reported a membership numbering in excess of one million followers. All-in, there were 72,492,669 who were members of one faith or another:

Catholics:…………………………….. 23,419,791


Methodists:…………………………. 8,046,129


Baptists:………………………………. 5,667,926

All the Protestant denominations added up to 41,943,104. The Jewish congregations clocked-in at 4,641,184.

The W.W. II Revival In Faith
(American Magazine, 1942)

When mobilization began, the government, as usual, undertook to provide spiritual ministry for the men. But many veteran clergymen doubted whether religion would catch on… But religion did catch on – and with such vigor that the chaplaincy services have been swamped by it. Army and Navy chapels are jam-packed. Demands for special services, for Bible study and for religious instruction, are more than can be met. Many men – Protestant and Catholic – are being baptized or confirmed. Some chaplains report an almost overwhelming interest in religion and church as a career.


Click here to read about the renewed interest in religion that existed on the home front…

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